In 1969, Hess acquired Amerada Petroleum Corporation, one of the largest producers of crude oil in the United States.

His parents were Ethel and Mores Hess, who was a kosher butcher who had emigrated from Lithuania[1] and—after arriving in the United States—worked as an oil delivery man in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

[1] In the early 1960s, he built the world's largest oil refinery at the time on St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands to take advantage of federal tax benefits.

[1] In 1969, using the proceeds from the Hess sale, he acquired the Amerada Petroleum Corporation, one of the largest producers of crude oil in the United States.

In 1963, Hess was part of a consortium that bought the New York Jets which included Sonny Werblin, Philip H. Iselin, Townsend B. Martin, and Donald C.

[1] He bought out his partners: Werblin in 1968,[5] the heirs of Iselin in 1977, Martin in 1981[6] and on February 9, 1984, he became the sole owner of the club after purchasing the last quarter-share from Helen Dillon, Lillis' daughter.

[7][8] Sports agent Leigh Steinberg once recounted a story about meeting Hess, who related about the "important people I know", showing him a card of the Ayatollah Khomeini.

[10] Hess made sure that Dennis Byrd, who suffered a broken neck with partial paralysis on the field, received the final two years of his contract of over $1 million.

[20][21] In 2014, the New York Jets selected Hess, along with former wide receiver Wayne Chrebet, to be the year's inductees into its Ring of Honor.